Phil Gordon keeps making the same mistake. The former Phoenix mayor knows that to make a legal, right-hand turn on a red light in Arizona, a driver must first come to complete stop. But he can’t seem to make himself do it — even after getting busted four times for…
Nick Chasteen’s covered with menthol-infused oil. His square-jawed face is slathered with Vaseline. A black silk robe with red and yellow trim is cinched at his waist. It’s a Friday night, and the Muay Thai fighter from Phoenix is about to make his professional debut at the Hard Rock Hotel…
A Peoria man who was convicted in September of starting a 5,220-acre wildfire with a propane tank has been ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution. The U.S. Forest Service had recommended that Bryan Teague pay $487,000 to reimburse the costs of fighting the 2012 fire, making it appear as though…
The Cave Creek council selected Peter Jankowski as its primary choice to serve as town manager. James Palenick, one of the three finalists, was selected as an alternative — in case a deal with Jankowski falls through. While former Florence Town Manager Himanshu Patel, also one of the three finalists,…
Robert Curtis Milliron, a 22-year-old from Phoenix, told police he kidnapped an 8-year-old girl in Mesa on Sunday because he was “lonely” and wanted companionship. Police identified the man this morning in a news release, calling the brazen, broad-daylight kidnapping a “terrifying incident for the family that strikes a cord…
Convicted murder Jodi Arias is a student of the arts.In addition to her penchant for nude self-photography, Arias also sells her own drawings online, with help from the outside. We’re also into art here at New Times, which is why we created a series of Jodi Arias masterworks, in which…
Joe Fitzgibbon, a Washington state lawmaker, called Arizona a “desert racist wasteland” after becoming upset at the Cardinals’ win on Sunday over the Seattle Seahawks. “Losing a football game sucks,” tweeted the 20-something at about 4:30 p.m. yesterday. “Losing to a desert racist wasteland sucks a lot.”…
In 1932, scores of people in Mesa watched Santa Claus jump out of an airplane over the East Valley.Children and adults watched Santa as he fell, and fell, and fell some more. Although the local weekly newspaper at the time, the Mesa Journal-Tribune, had hyped up a stunt in which…
Welcome to Courthouse Update, a weekly rundown goings-on at the Maricopa County Superior Court.This week, Debra Milke gets a break in her murder retrial, former Phoenix cop Richard Chrisman is headed to the can, an ambulance thief is also headed to prison, and much more:…
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors didn’t just settle with New Times’ former top executives today — the panel also settled with former Supervisor Don Stapley. The county (or rather, its insurance company) will shell out $3.5 million to Stapley, who represented the east Valley on the board from 1994…
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors this afternoon voted unanimously to approve a $3.75 million settlement for New Times’ co-founders, whose false arrests in 2007 were orchestrated by Sheriff Joe Arpaio.Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin were taken from their homes in the middle of the night and jailed on misdemeanor…
Florence is exploring the purchase of Johnson Utilities, one of the largest private water and sewer companies in Arizona, which services the San Tan Valley and parts of the town. Some of the players involved are talking about the potential sale as a done deal. But there remain numerous unanswered…
Richard Dumas Jr., a former star player for the Phoenix Suns during their legendary 1992-1993 season, was arrested on Thursday in connection with organized retail theft. Specifics about Dumas’ alleged crimes weren’t readily available, but the U.S. Marshals Service in Phoenix announced the ex-Sun had been picked up as part…
Gonzalo Inzunza Inzunza, a top lieutenant in the Sinaloa cartel, was among six people killed in an hours-long shootout on Sandy Beach in Rocky Point this week, Mexican officials say. But Mexican authorities reportedly are confirming this based on samples of DNA from the bloody crime scene — the body…
In addition to providing the Arizona Department of Transportation with information about traffic conditions, the highway cameras throughout the state also capture some things you might not expect to see on the open road.From weird weather to strange items dumped on the highway, to odd crashes, and more, check out…
Drunk driving is bad.With that out of the way, here’s where police will be setting up “saturation patrols” around the Valley, looking for impaired drivers this weekend:…
At the end of the week, we bring you a roundup of visitors to the desert’s own Fourth Avenue Jail. To be considered for our Maricopa County mugshots of the week, get arrested, strike a pose, and we’ll take care of the rest.This week, the jail’s looking a whole lot…
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Joshua Silverman, a 35-year-old from Scottsdale, was one of six soldiers who died in a helicopter crash this week in Afghanistan, according to the Defense Department.Silverman is the 49th Arizonan to die in Afghanistan under “Operation Enduring Freedom.”…
The Arizona Forestry Division is contesting “serious” safety violations another state agency claims it made fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire.”On that day the fire burned over 8,000 acres of wildland, over 114 structures, and resulted in multiple instances of firefighters being unnecessarily and unreasonably exposed to the deadly hazards of…
Sheriff Joe Arpaio called a press conference yesterday at the new Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office headquarters in Downtown Phoenix for a prostitution bust, but we didn’t get past the lobby.Turns out, the $93 million building, at Fifth Avenue and Jackson Street, isn’t actually done yet, but we did get our…
There may be nothing more American than baseball and apple pie, but there’s nothing more Arizonan than guns and Governor Jan Brewer struggling to complete a sentence.Although the peak of Brewer-isms will likely always be her 2010 debate brain-fart, the nonsense and weirdness keep on comin’. Check out our picks…
Dear Readers: Behold your favorite Mexican’s annual Christmas gift guide, in which I give shout-outs to some of my favorite books that deserve your money this holiday season! And for once, I won’t recommend my books — ¡Ask a Mexican!, Orange County: A Personal History, and Taco USA: How Mexican…
